The lab report part is graded as follows (100% = perfect lab report, entering as 70% in the overall grade for mechanics and 75% in the overall grade for electromagnetism):
25%: interpretation and presentation of results
25%: statistical and systematic uncertainty/error analysis
25%: quality of the measurement (enough data, data in the correct range, useful measurement range)
15%: description and objectives of measurement
10%: others, grammar & language, units, tidiness; point reductions as necessary
Please also read the template section in the lab manual (before coming to the lab). It contains information on additional measurements that need to be taken in the lab and cannot be done later on.
The document should start with a title of the experiment/module and an abstract. Include your names and SMU email addresses.
An abstract motivates the measurement in 1-2 sentences and then summarizes the results and their impact in a few more sentences.
The first section is an introduction. State a problem that the measurement would resolve. Introduce the measurement. Motivate why the measurement was done. What are the objectives? Why was it done in the context of the lab, and what are the broader implications. Think about real-world applications, maybe even specific to your discipline of study. What do we learn from this measurement, in particular in the context of the applications?
The second section discusses the theoretical framework. In physics without theory there can be no interpretation of experimental data. And without supporting measurement of data, any theoretical model is just fiction. Discuss the theory framework, needed for the measurement, including formulas.
The third section should give a description of the experimental setup that is used to perform the introduced measurement. Explain the instruments, what is being measured in detail, and what systematic and statistical uncertainties enter. What steps have you taken to minimize those uncertainties? Can some uncertainties be ignored, then why? Do you rely on pre-calibrated equipment? What calibrations have you performed?
The fourth section compiles results and discusses them. This usually shows plots of the data and a mapping to theoretical model expectations. Discuss the result, explore its consequences in the context of the experiment, physics and the broader world.
The last section “Conclusions” briefly summarizes your results. You can re-iterate some motivation (do not copy), but keep it short. The conclusions are also a place to present an outlook of next steps or open questions.
In the appendix you can present raw data to reproduce the results, or point towards files that contain the raw data (with uncertainties).
Our strong recommendations: Start writing the lab report as early as possible. Since you are groups of three you should start writing the report during the lab session. Based on your preparation (which you are required to do), you can already draft a lab report and think about goals, motivation etc. In your group of three you can then collate ideas, thoughts about uncertainties, which data and how much data should be taken, etc. Once you have put everything down in the lab, you can iterate and tweak to polish the report.
The general rule of thumb is: Someone at SMU who hasn’t read the lab manual should be able to fully understand and follow your text. Still, be concise and do not replicate the lab manual.
A demonstration lab report for a measurement of the relation between applied force to a spring and its displacement can be found in the file lab-template-hooke.docx (lab-template-hooke.pdf). This template does not have to be used, but serves just as a guide. The template uses a two-column layout and has certain styles for headings and figure captions, and makes use of typesetting math in a special input form. We recommend to use a desktop version of Word or a different desktop word processor to better work with the document.1) Otherwise, please feel free to set up your own document.